Mother, Creature, Kin: What We Learn from Nature's Mothers in a Time of Unraveling

As a mother, I was drawn to the title right away and was so pleased to receive this book to review! It had amazing insight into “mothering” from an ecological standpoint. At times, it did read as a little preachy, but I understand the writer’s passion for diving outside of motherhood the way we think of it as human to human, mother to child. It was a thought-provoking book and reminded me of how fully immersed and at ease I am when I’m in nature for an extended period of time, whether it’s camping with my family or going on long hikes by myself. It’s as if I’m fully and deeply me and doing what I was created to do.
Although I must admit I do not fully agree with everything in the book, I love our planet and the beauty of show more each living thing that somehow just knows how to be and do — most of which, without a worry or care in the world. It’s hard not to be in awe of nature when you think about it! show less

This is a well written, thought provoking book that deserves to be read slowly. Taking the twin disruptions of the covid-19 pandemic and her own first-time motherhood as starting points, Steinauer-Scudder explores what it means to nurture and to exist as part of the massive, interconnected web of life on earth, instead of estranged from and in opposition to it as so many aspects of modern culture encourage us to be. Interwoven throughout all of this are explorations of biological and ecological processes, human folklore and mythology, and Steinauer-Scudder's observations of flora and fauna that she's encountered throughout her life. This book defies categorization but is immensely engaging and satisfying. I recommend it.

The author examines the current ecological state of the world through the lens of mothering as practiced by humans and other than human species. This is not a book written for human mothers. This is a book with a message for everyone who cares about humanity and the millions of plant and animal species who share planet earth. The author’s expressive meditations draw lessons in caring from humans and other life forms existing at the edge. Readers are urged to move beyond hope, which Steinauer-Scudder considers an unreliable and “shaky foundation on which to repair the world.” It is love that will support the needed work of healing. The kind of love that nature’s mothers can teach us.

This book is deeply thoughtful. As the title suggests, the author explored the connection between mothering and nature. How can we mother in such a scary world? This book was timely for me as I received it soon after giving birth to my own child. Many of the concepts she explores are concepts I ponder in my own life. For example, the idea of belonging to a place and learning to belong somewhere new. I do not feel a deep sense of belonging where I live now, but there are things I can do to help cultivate that. My daughter will grow up here, and I hope to help her cultivate her own deep connection with the place we live.

This book is a beautiful look at how we connect to each other and the world around us.

Mothering takes on many forms, and dimensions, within the pages of Mother, Creature, Kin. I found the various examples compelling. Each one, each creature and life form, had their own visions, their own way of providing for current, and future generations. We might not see this in the reality of every day life, but in the realm of things, it is definitely true.

Climate change is all around us, intruding on ecological life, and foundations. The pages grasp this with clarity, sensitivity, and knowledge. Chelsea Steinauer-Scudder’s prose is poetic in places, and never under estimates the consistency, and constant regenerating of life, and the mothers who keep it connected, constantly.

I want to thank LibraryThing, and Broad Leaf Books, show more for my Early reviewers Copy. show less

I am almost half way through this book, I find some of it a bit "preachy" with that said I think I only find it that way due to some of my own neurodivergency and the fact that I have been trying to live this way most of my life. I found this book relaxing to read and so some of it seems over talked, but I think this is a great book to collect and nurture your mind when you are trying to find more connection to our earth.

This book explores the theme of mothering in the broadest sense by encompassing the care of all life on the planet. Some of the most interesting parts were the science passages. For example, birds can hear infrasound waves, that is acoustic waves produced by storms as far away as 560 miles away that is inaudible to human ears. In other parts of the book, the author recounts dreams, the experiences of her child, and mythologies to encourage awareness of environmental catastrophes.